The Angeling
by 98sparkle
Summary: Destiny or Free Will? Is it that odd for free will of one to lead to the destiny of another? Meet and follow Miriam Malak as she realizes her destiny and her free will are tied to one angel. Rated T to be safe
1. Prologue

p class="MsoNormal"  
style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size:  
12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';  
background: #FEFEFE;"He looked down at the infant, knowing the blonde was destined for his little brother. The Archangel placed a hand on her forehead, smiling and giving her a sliver of his Grace as protection. There was a rough life ahead of /  
Years later, she was running through the halls of her home, yelling, "Damian!  
Damian!"br / As the now twenty-year-old crashed through the door of her younger brother's room, she saw him on the ground with a... a thing over him.  
"Get away!" she screamed, running up to it. br /  
It looked up at her and growled, "Angeling," before it ran away, screeching and / "W-what?" she managed to stutter out before two men came crashing in./span/p 


	2. Chapter 1

Two years after that incident, Miriam Malak was driving blue '68 Camaro through Souix Falls, South Dakota, needing a safe place to hole up, rest, and fix her car. She parked in the back by the shop before walking in. "Bobby!" she called, grabbing a soda from the kitchen.

Instead of Bobby answering, however, it was a giant of a man, especially to Miriam's 5'2", with longish brown hair. A very familiar giant of a man. She stared, "Y-you..."

He looked up. "Who are you?" he asked, relatively calmly for someone who was holding up a gun.

Holding up her hands in surrender, Miriam said, "I'm a hunter. Bobby's a friend. I need a place to crash and fix my car."

"Mind if we run some tests?"

Miriam smiled and slowly pulled out her silver knife, which she then dragged across her arm. "See? Not allergic to silver." She sat and waited for the rests of the tests. Salt, iron, holy water. Pass, pass, pass.

"Alright, you're human. I'm Sam, Sam Winchester." Sam said.

"Miriam, Miriam Malak. And yes, like Moses' wife in the Bible. My parents were religious." Miriam said.

"Interesting."

Loud footsteps sounded down the stairs as Bobby and another familiar man thundered down the stairs, guns in hand.

"Miriam." Bobby said.

"Bobby." Miriam greeted, standing up and hugging him.

"You know each other?"

"No, I'm just hugging a random girl for fun, idjit. 'Course I know her. This is Miriam Malak. She started hunting two years ago after her brother was killed by a wraith." Bobby turned to Miriam. "This idjit's Dean Winchester."

"Brothers, I'm assuming."

Sam nodded.

"Your brother was killed by a wraith? I remember that case." Dean said. "Thought you looked familiar. Sammy, you tested her, right?"

"It's Sam. And yes. Which reminds me." He grabbed a napkin and handed it to Miriam. "For your arm."

She took it. "Thank you," she said, wiping the blood off her arm. The cut had already healed.

"What the...? Miriam, let me see your arm." Sam said, grabbing her arm and running a hand over it. "What happened?"

"What? I've always healed like that. My whole life." Miriam said.

Sam and Dean looked at each other.

"I think you need to meet Castiel."


	3. Chapter 2

"Who?" Miriam asked.

"He's an angel. He may be able to tell you why you heal like that." Dean said.

"Interesting. How do you call him?" she asked.

"Pray," was Sam's answer.

"Ah. That makes sense."

Dean nodded and said, "Cas, we need your help. Got someone down here with freaky mojo powers."

"Hey! It's not freaky!"

"You healed in under ten minutes! That's freaky in my book!"

Their argument was interrupted by the fluttering of feathers. "Hello Dean."

Miriam turned with a start, eyes going wide at the man before her. He was gorgeous. Not that the Winchesters weren't, but he was amazing. Black hair slightly ruffled, bright, intense blue eyes, always staring, never blinking, very kissable lips, brown trench coat thrown haphazardly over the white button up, top button undone and dark blue tie on backwards.

"Castiel, this is Miriam. Miriam, this is Castiel." Sam introduced them.

"Hello Miriam." Castiel said.

"U-uh... hi." Miriam greeted.

Castiel turned to Dean. "You said freaky mojo...?"

"Yeah. Miriam cut herself to prove she was human about ten minutes ago. It's healed." Dean said.

"Hmmm... Miriam, could you sit down?" Castiel asked.

"Sure." Miriam sat and Castiel handed her his leather belt. "What...?"

"Put it in your mouth. This will be... unpleasant." Castiel said as he rolled up one of his sleeves.

Miriam nodded, folding the belt and putting it in her mouth.

"I am sorry, Miriam." He said as reached in and felt her soul. Miriam's eyes squeezed closed, her jaw tensed, and knuckles whitened on the arms of the chair. As Castiel's hand left her, she visibly relaxed, breathing deeply.

"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed, breathless.

Castiel didn't answer right away. He was staring, wide-eyed, at Miriam.

"Cas. Hey, Cas, snap out of it!" Dean said, waving his hand in Castiel's face.

Castiel shook his head. "My apologies. I was unaware that the archangels were still doing this."

"Doing what?" Miriam asked.

"Creating Angelings."

"What's an Angeling?" Sam asked, having never heard of them despite doing extensive research on angels after meeting Castiel.

"An Angeling is a human blessed with a sliver of Archangel Grace for protection. More often than not, these humans end up being the predestined mates of an angel and the Grace ensures that the human reaches the angel. It also allows the human to see the true manifestation of his or her angel's wings, not just the shadow you saw when we met." Castiel explained.

"And I'm one of these?" Miriam asked.

Castiel nodded. "It also allows human women to conceive and carry fledglings."

"Fledglings? As in... baby angels?" she asked.

"Precisely."

Miriam blinked. "Wow. Is there any way to know which angel I'm destined for?"

"Not that I am aware of." Castiel responded.

Miriam nodded. "Thank you." She held her hand out for a handshake.

Castiel looked at her with his head tilted.

She chuckled. "It's a hand shake. Like this." She grabbed his hand and shook it before letting go quickly and looking down in surprise.

"What happened, Miriam?" Bobby asked.

"I'm not sure. It felt like... electricity. When our skin touched. Is it the Grace?" she said.

"I need to talk to my brother." Castiel vanished with the flapping of wings.

"That was ceremonious." Miriam said.

"He's always like that. Angels." Dean said.

Miriam nodded. "Hey, Bobby, can I crash here?"

"Sure, head on up. Your room's open."

"Thanks." She said, walking up. She was out before her head hit the pillow.


	4. Chapter 3

The next morning found Miriam in the garage working on her car. "Damn ghost... possessing my car..." she grumbled, cleaning ectoplasm out of the engine. As she was working, Sam walked out with a cup of coffee.

"Good morning" he said.

Miriam jumped, hitting her head on the hood of her '68 Camaro. "Ouch, goddamit!"

Sam winced. "Sorry."

Miriam turned, rubbing the back of her head. "It's fine. I've had worse. Not even any blood." she said. "What brings you down here?"

"I heard someone in the garage. I assume it was you." Sam responded.

Miriam smiled. "Well, I'm the only one here."

Sam nodded. "Hey, you want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." Miriam said.

He walked back inside and Miriam turned back to her car. She sighed. "I'll have to take the damn engine apart..." she muttered, reaching for the pliers.

Sam came back out just as she was lifting the blackened engine from the body.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Ghost decided to take her for a joyride. Left tons of ectoplasm in the... everywhere. I'm surprised she got me here." Miriam replied, wiping off her hands and taking the coffee. "Hey, how long have you guys know Castiel?" she asked, leaning against the car.

"A few months. Why?" Sam said, handing Miriam a wrench.

"Thanks. And I just feel like he's familiar. Like Deja vu, ya know?" she replied, beginning to take apart the engine. All of a sudden, there was the sound of feathers again and a certain short, snarky, blonde Archangel appeared on top of the Camaro.

"Hey, kiddo."

Miriam jumped. "Dammit, Gabe! Don't do that!"

Gabriel chuckled. "Sorry, kiddo. Hey, what's up with your car?"

"Ghost." she replied, cleaning the pieces as she went.

By now, Sam had realized that this Gabriel Miriam seemed to know so well was the Trickster that he and his brother hunted. "How are you still alive?!"

"What?!" Miriam exclaimed. "You tried to kill Gabriel?!"

"Yeah. They thought I was a Trickster." Gabe said, chuckling. "Sorry to disappoint, Samsquatch."

"Wait, so you're not a Trickster?" Sam asked. "So what are you?"

"Let's see, what lore do you know of has a good looking guy named Gabriel?"

"You're... an angel?" Sam said, incredulous.

"Archangel, Sammy." Gabriel replied. "And I'm not here about you. I'm here for you, Miriam. I've been your guardian for your whole life, but you're not my charge anymore."

"What? Why not?" Miriam asked.

"That is for me to know and you to find out, kiddo. I'll see you around. Maybe." Gabriel said, disappearing with the flutter of feathers.

"Gabe! Gabe, wait!" she cried. "Dammit!"

"What was that about?" Sam asked.

"No idea." Miriam sighed.

"Sorry. Must be hard." Sam said.

"A bit. I just want my car fixed, though." Miriam turned back to the engine, meticulously cleaning it before turning back to the car itself, cleaning all the ectoplasm out.

"Sammy! Where are you, bro?" Dean called from the house.

"Garage!" Sam called back.

Dean walked in, grinning.

"What're you so happy about?" Sam asked.

"Got a case. A normal, salt-and-burn case. No Apocalypse crap." Dean said.

"Where?" Miriam asked.

Dean jumped. "Hey. Didn't see you there. It's in North Dakota. You in?"

"Sure." Sam said.

"Why not? Could be fun." Miriam said.

They piled in the Impala and drove off.


	5. Chapter 4

Twelve hour's car ride found them in Edgley, North Dakota.

"I wish my car was fixed." Miriam sighed, climbing out of the Impala's cramped back seat.

"What's wrong with my Baby?" Dean asked, incredulous.

"It's cramped. I'm 5'2" and lost feeling in my legs!" Miriam defended. "I miss my Camaro."

"You drive a Camaro? Is it that blue '68 you were working on in the shop?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, why?" Miriam responded.

"Nice car."

"Thanks, now, about this ghost."

"It seems like it's haunting an old church. So far, a preacher and a choir leader have been found dead." Sam answered.

"How?" Miriam asked.

"Coroners say they hanged themselves. Without rope. Laying on the ground."

"Well. That's normal." Dean said, sarcastically.

"Come on, lets get a room." Miriam said, turning to the motel and walking in. "Two rooms please."

Another hour had Miriam, Sam and Dean at the library looking for people who committed suicide in the church.

"I got one. Felicia Breen, a thirty year old woman who hung herself from the rafters." Sam said. "We need to see who she's targeting. I say we split up."

"Who'll be with who?" Dean asked, looking hopefully at Miriam.

"I can go talk to the families. I'm used to working alone." she said.

"That works. Dean and I can talk to the head priest." Sam responded.

Miriam nodded. "Alright then. See you later."

They went their separate ways, Miriam headed to the Bird residence, the family of the dead preacher, Caleb Bird, while the Winchesters went to the church.

Miriam knocked on the door, which was opened by a young blonde girl. "Hello." Miriam said. "I'm officer Banner. Can I talk to your mom?"

"Mommy's not here." the girl, named Fae Bird, answered. "But Grandpa is."

"May I talk to him... What was your name?" Miriam asked.

"I'm Fae. And yes, you can talk to Papi." she said, opening the door and letting Miriam in.

Miriam walked over to the older Mr. Bird, who was sitting in a chair, staring out the window. "Mr. Bird? I'm Officer Banner. I'm with the FBI. I'm here about your son's death."

He turned, a crazed glint in his eye. "I' wasn't 'im! 'E didn't kill himself! He was murdered!"

"Sir, sir, please calm down. I believe you. We've had similar deaths in South Dakota. That's why the FBI is here. Just tell me what you know." Miriam said, calming him down.

"There was a woman. She murdered him."

"Can you describe her, Mr. Bird?" Miriam asked.

"Tall. Ratty, dirty hair. Like she'd just crawled out of the dirt, you know? He dress was in the same state. Pale as a sheet."

"Anything else? Scars, tattoos, anything unique?"

"Yeah. She had a red line. Just under her chin, like a rope burn."

"Thank you. Oh, and is there a way for me to speak to Caleb's wife? It would help me corroborate the story." Miriam asked.

"She's dead. Suicide, 'bout a month ago."

Miriam nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss." She said, walking to the door. "Stay strong, Fae. It gets better, I promise. Goodbye." With that, she left, not noticing the flash of auburn hair disappearing behind the building.

She visited the other family, that of Jane Smith. Same story. Her husband had committed suicide the month before her death, leaving n orphaned child behind.

Miriam headed back to the motel, jumping when auburn hair flashed across her vision.

"Miriam!" Dean called from half a block away.

She stopped, turning. "Hey! I found a pattern. All people with children an a spouse who committed suicide. How much do you want to bet the suicide of Felicia Breen was actually a murder and now she's reliving it through others?"

"Fantastic. Now we just have to find where she's buried." Dean said.

"St. Micheal's Church Cemetary." Sam said.

"The church she's haunting. Fantastic." Miriam replied, sarcastically.


	6. Chapter 5

That night, they broke into the church cemetery.

"This is a horrible idea." Miriam said. "We're almost out of salt rounds. We should make more before we do this."

"We'll be fine." Sam said.

"Yeah. Why, you scared, little girl?" Dean asked, teasing.

"Just because you two are giants doesn't mean I'm little! I'm normal!" Miriam exclaimed, lightly shoving Dean.

Dean chuckled. "Touchy. Come on, let's gank this SOB." he said, tossing a shovel to Sam and a shotgun to Miriam. "You see it, you shoot."

"I know what to do, Winchester." Miriam replied.

He began to dig up Felicia's grave.

The salt and burn was surprisingly quiet. the hard ground took an hour and a half to dig up before they got to the casket that held the bones of not only Felicia Breen, but also that of a small child.

"That's... normal." Miriam said. "Who's the kid?"

"No clue. Salt and burn, all the same." Dean said, sprinkling salt and gasoline over the bones of Felicia and the child before dropping a lit match into the grave. Flames danced over the bones, a morbid kind of beauty.

As the orange flames mesmerized the trio, a woman with bright auburn hair watched the fire reflect off of Miriam's blonde hair. "The Angeling."

The blaze died down and the trio walked back towards the church and car through the dark, the mist parting before them before closing up behind.

"That wasn't bad." Miriam said.

"No, it wasn't. I was expecting more of a fight from the ghost." Sam agreed.

"Me too. I saw her. She looked pained, like she didn't want to be hurting people." Miriam explained.

"She's a vengeful spirit. 'Course she wanted to hurt them. It's in her job description." Dean replied as they entered the church.

An eerie laugh sounded around the dark church. "Think again, Winchester." a voice said as Miriam and the boys were flung against the wall.

A woman with firey bright auburn hair stepped forward out of the shadows that reached every corner of the church.

She chuckled. "The Winchesters. You're quite famous in Hell. Both of you have been down there once. I would so enjoy killing you."

"So why don't you?" Dean asked, clearly straining against the power holding him to the wall.

She sighed. "I need you to take a message to the angels."

"What message?" Sam asked.

The demon smiled, a twist of her lips more frightening than her smirk. "You'll find out."

Miriam, during all of this, was hanging, limp, from the wall due to the demon's power. Her long, blonde hair shielded her face, which was resting against her chest as the demon surrounded her sliver of Grace with a tortured, evil soul. It was draining Miriam's energy because her body was trying to reestablish the connection with the Grace that it was used to having for twenty two years.

With a flick of her wrist, the demon slammed Sam and Dean against the old stone walls and let them slide down, unconscious.

"Dean! Sam!" Miriam attempted to yell, but her weakened body only allowed for a whisper that she knew wouldn't slip past the black wall that all hunters felt at one point or another. A black wall that threatened to drop over her mind.

A touch of the demon to her soul made Miriam's head jerk and a whimper fall past her lips, the adrenalin rushing through her veins chased away the threat of unconsciousness and causing her to- finally- start to struggle against the invisible bonds holding her to the wall.

"The Grace is beautiful. So bright. It really is a wonder. And I can look at this little sliver." The demon pulled her soul out of Miriam's, causing her to gasp and slump. The sudden return of the Grace cause Miriam to become catatonic, slipping down the wall.

"You are mine now, Miriam Malak."


	7. Chapter 6

Though she could not scream, Miriam's mind yelled out for help. "Gabriel! GABRIEL! Help me! Please!"

Her heart raced ane her breathing sped up as she panicked. She began to count the steps of the person carrying her. One... two... three... four... five...

She was put on the floor, chained to a cold, unforgiving stone wall and the blindfold and gag were removed.

"What do you want?!" she asked, straining against the chains.

"Nothing, right now. This is just a bit of fun. What I want will show up. Eventually." the demon said, smirking.

Miriam's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean? Who are you?" she asked.

"Clarissa." was the only response as the demon walked out of the room and flicked off the lights, plunging the windowless room into darkness.

At the same time, Sam and Dean were just coming to.

"Sammy, you alright?" Dean asked, groaning as he sat up.

"Yeah. You? And Miriam?" Sam responded.

"I'm fine." he said, looking around. "Miriam? Miriam!"

They searched the church, but couldn't find her.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed.

"The demon took her. She said we'd have a message. I guess this is it." Sam said, very reasonably.

Dean nodded. "Let's go." He walked rapidly to the car, ignoring the hangover-like throbbing in his head and the spots in his vision. "You coming, Sammy."

"Yeah." Sam grunted, struggling to his feet due to a slight concussion.

Dean, in his rush to tell Bobby what happened to Miriam , managed to turn a twelve hour drive into nine. His foot never left the gas and AC/DC's "Back in Black" was currently blasting through the Impala's speakers, much to the annoyance of Sam, who was nursing a killer headache.

"Would you please turn that down?!" Sam finally asked, exasperated.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because I have a headache!" Sam responded.

"Fine." Dean said, turning the music down slightly. "Bitch"

"Jerk" was Sam's immediate response.

Their banter continued until the Impala pulled onto the long drive up to Singer Salvage, both boys falling silent as they glanced into the rearveiw mirror, the severity of what happened- what could be happening- to Miriam settling in now they had to tell Bobby and Castiel.

Bobby was in the kitchen when they walked in, Dean with his head up, but eyes downcast and Sam with his whole body slumped, head bowed with shame.

"Hey guys. How'd it go?" Bobby asked as they walked into the room.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, unsure of how to answer the question.

"Where's Miriam?" Bobby asked before they could figure out how to answer.

"Bobby, she, wh..." Sam started.

"You see, there..." Dean began, trailing off as well.

"Spit it out, ya idjits." Bobby said, exasperated.

"Wedon'tknowwheresheis" Sam said in a rush.

Bobby looked at him. "Didn't catch that."

"Bobby... we don't know where she is." Dean said, taking over for his panic-stricken brother.

"What happened?" Bobby asked quickly, launching the boys into the tale of the hunt and Miriam's kidnapping.

"A demon, huh?" Bobby said. "What has she gotten herself into now?"

"No idea. But we need to tell Cas. He could probably help find her." Dean responded.

"We'll tell him tomorrow. Get some sleep, boys. You look like you need it." Bobby said, herding the boys to the guest rooms before they collapsed on the floor. "And you take it easy, Sam. You got a concussion."

Sam nodded before all but collapsing on the bed, out before he hit the pillow.


	8. Chapter 7

p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; background: #FEFEFE;"In the dark, it was impossible to see. Miriam had taken to counting her breaths to keep time. /spanspan style="font-size: 12.0pt;  
line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"br / br / span style="background:  
#FEFEFE;"1423...1424...1425.../spanbr /  
span style="background: #FEFEFE;" /spanbr / span style="background:  
#FEFEFE;" Any new noise made her flinch, anything other than the steady drip of the water pipes made her hair stand on end. Goosebumps were a normal thing sitting against the unyielding stone of the wall behind her./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;"1427...1428...1429/spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" Tap./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" 'What was that?' she thought, head instinctively snapping up even though she couldn't see anything./spanbr / br /  
span style="background: #FEFEFE;"1430..Tap./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" 'There it is again.'/spanbr /  
br / span style="background:  
#FEFEFE;"1431.1432.1433.1434./spanbr / br / span style="background:  
#FEFEFE;" Tap./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" TapTapTap/spanbr / br /  
span style="background: #FEFEFE;" Tap./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" 'Getting closer'/spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;"143514361437143814391440/spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" Miriam's breathing quickened. /spanbr / br / span style="background:  
#FEFEFE;"1441./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" Creeeaaak./spanbr / br / span style="background: #FEFEFE;" Light flooded the room, blinding Miriam./span/span/p 


	9. Chapter 8

"How can you not tell?!" Dean asked, angry and confused.

"The connection was not enough for me to track. But I can look for her." Gabriel responded, surprisingly calmly.

"Then do it." Sam said, looking hopefully at the archangel.

Gabriel took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his Grace search.

When he found her, Miriam's eyes snapped open and she spoke to the image of Gabriel created by his Grace.

"You shouldn't be here." Miriam said.

"I'm not. This is a projection. I'm with the Winchesters at Singer's Salvage. They're looking for you." Gabriel responded.

Miriam was still hanging from the chains, but her strength was returning. "Don't come to get me, Gabe." she said, deadpan.

"Why shouldn't I?" Gabriel asked, indignant. "You're my charge. It's my job to protect you until you find your angel, Miriam."

"There's no angel warding." She said as explanation.

"So? Just makes it easier to find you." Gabriel said.

"No, you don't get it. _There's no angel warding._ She's not the type of demon to just forget that." Miriam explained. "She told me what she wants will show up eventually. And she knows I'm an angeling. It's a trap."

Gabriel sighed. "You know the Winchesters are no match for this demon, right?"

"I know. So don't tell them." Miriam replied. "Please. Just leave me. I'll be fine."

"Fine? Fine?! Miriam, you can barely talk! You can't stand on your own! Do you have any idea how worried they are about you? How worried I am? How worried Ca-" Gabriel cut off, looking down.

"Who? Who was that last one?" Miriam asked.

Gabriel looked at her before disappearing.

"I found her." he said. "She's in Virginia."

"Where in Virginia?" Sam asked.

"Near the coast. Norfolk, I think is what they call it." Gabriel said. "Have you told Castiel yet?"

"Not yet. Why?" Dean responded.

"Let me tell him. There's something he needs to know." Gabriel disappeared, off to find Castiel.

Sam sighed. "Fantastic."

"I know." Dean replied.

Miriam's screams rent the air as the knife came down into her shoulder, cutting through her skin and muscle before striking the bone. She shook in her restraints as the energy drained out of her. Her deep, gasping breaths were growing more and more shallow.

"Done so soon, Miriam?" Clarissa asked, putting the knife down and picking up a bucket.

The three gallon bucket made a sloshing and clanking noise like something was inside it. Miriam barely had time to look up before she was doused in ice-cold water, gasping at the sudden temperature change. The water soaked into her tattered and bloody clothes as the demon walked out, flipping on the air conditioner as she went.

"See you in a few hours" she said to a shivering Miriam.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was looking for Castiel. Finding him in a run-down warehouse, Gabriel said, "Castiel."

Castiel turned. "Gabriel. What brings you here?"

"Miriam." Gabriel answered.

"How do you know Miriam?" Castiel asked.

"It's my Grace inside her," was Gabriel's response. "She's in Norfolk. An old warehouse. She's in pain."

Castiel stood and turned. "Let's go."

"You need to know something first." Gabriel told him, grabbing Castiel's arm.

"What?"

"It'd be easier to show you." Gabriel said, snapping.

Castiel looked as the warehouse melted into an autumn Thursday.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around at the young children running around the park. A five-year-old blonde girl drew his eyes.

"Not where, little brother. When. 17 years ago, autumn. A Thursday." Gabriel walked over to the blonde, who was sitting alone on a park bench, crying. He knelt down in front of her. "Miriam?"

"Gabey?" she sniffed, looking up and hugging him.

Gabriel hugged back, comforting her as best he could. He picked her up and sat on the bench with her in his lap, gently consoling her and trying to find out what happened.

Castiel watched the scene with fascination; he had never seen an angel and a human interact that way before. He walked over as Gabriel kissed the top of her head and the crying subsided.

"Miriam," Gabriel said, pulling her away from his chest, "there's someone I want you to meet. This is my brother, Castiel."

She turned. "Cassiel? Hello!" she said, smiling brightly despite having been crying moments before.

"What happened, Miriam?" Castiel asked, tilting his head curiously.

"I can't find my mommy…" she responded, looking down.

"Why don't we go look for her?" Castiel suggested, holding out his hand.

Miriam smiled "OK!" She took his hand and grabbed for Gabriel's. "You'll always be here, right?"

"Of course." Gabriel said.

"Miriam! Miriam!" Raven Malak, Miriam's mother, cried, running up to her. "Oh, thank God!" Raven hugged her daughter, grabbing her hand and walking off, paying no heed to the two men on either side of her daughter.

Gabriel smiled. "Hold on tight, little brother."

"Wha-"

With another click of Gabriel's fingers, he and Castiel were at Miriam's house. The now ten-year-old ran into the room, eyes flicking over Gabriel like he wasn't there and landing on Castiel.

"Cas!" she exclaimed, surprised. "I missed you!" She hugged him, her tiny frame getting lost in his trench coat as it billowed out around her.

"I missed you too, little one." he said, awkwardly hugging her back.

She smiled. "I looked your name up a few days ago. Mama helped me. Castiel is the Angel of Thursday. Neat, huh?"

"Very neat."

"You know, Thursday is my favorite day. I met you on a Thursday. Nothing bad can happen then."

"I know what you mean." Castiel said, looking up at Gabriel, who smiled sadly. "I have to go now, Miriam. I will see you again."

"OK! Goodbye!" she said brightly.

They flew back to the present, the warehouse.

"The second time, why couldn't she see you?" Castiel asked.

"She could. But, there was someone more important to her there." Gabriel responded, cryptically.

"More important…?" Castiel wondered out loud, realizing what he meant. "You don't mean…"

"I do. She is your mate. She doesn't know though." Gabriel said.

Castiel stood and snapped before Gabriel knew what happened.

"Damn it."


	10. Chapter 9

Miriam hang slack from the ceiling, manacles biting into her wrists and causing blood to seep down her pales, the bright red standing stark against the sickly grey-white of her skin.

The feel of cold metal against her skin made her stir only slightly as Clarissa's demons minions attached metal bands to her head, chest, and waist. Small, sharp spikes on the rings broke her skin and caused more blood to flow out of her body. Bright copper wires were attached to little nodes on the rings before being attached to a switch.

Ten minutes later, Clarissa walked in.

"Miriam, Miriam, Miriam." she sighed. "Where is your angel, hmmm? Can't you sense each other?"

Miriam whimpered, shaking her head.

"Or," Clarissa said, walking to the switch, "are you not mated yet? Oh, that is precious! I'll bet you don't even know who it is!" She cackled and flicked the switch, watching as Miriam's muscles tensed and back arched, electricity coursing through her body.

After about a minute, Clarissa turned off the electricity the same time there was a shout from the hall. She smiled. "We have guests."

She walked out, leaving Miriam hanging, panicked and semiconscious, from the chains. Minutes later, after the sounds of a struggle, Clarissa and one of her minions came in, supporting a black, quivering mass. That was all Miriam saw before blacking out.

Castiel appeared in the warehouse Clarissa was keeping Miriam in. He stalked through the halls, following the touch of Grace.

Suddenly, about 30 demons jumped out of every corner, crevice, and shadow. Castiel looked around, knowing that he could not physically smite all of them. But, no creature could gaze upon the true form of an angel without burning. Just as he began to let his true form shine through, however, all of a sudden, all of the demons rushed in at once, some clawing and biting, others pulling his arms away from his body and two attaching cold iron cuffs engraved with Enochian to his wrists and another around his neck. He could not show his true form. His Grace was trapped inside his vessel.

The demons ripped and tore at his coat and suit jacket, biting into his skin. One raked his claws down Castiel's back, causing the angel to flare out his now corporeal wings, which were also immediately grabbed and had similar rings shoved through the joints, trapping them in the corporeal form.

Castiel went limp with pain and the demons dragged his quivering form to Clarissa.

"So you're the one dear Miriam is promised to." she sneered, lifting Castiel's chin to get a better look. "You're a pretty scrawny thing, aren't you? Put him with the girl."

The demons nodded and began to drag him away. Castiel instinctively flared his wings out, despite the current agony of such a motion, which knocked most of the demons off him and against the walls.

Clarissa glowered at the angel as she stalked over to him, her nefarious soul permeating the air and touching Castiel's righteous one, causing him to shudder. But still he stood his ground.

"Give it up, angel." Clarissa admonished, inching ever closer.

"Let Miriam go." Castiel countered.

Clarissa laughed. "What are you going to do? You can't use your power"

"I have my angel blade."

"And if you can't use it?" Clarissa asked, using her powers to hold him against the wall.

Castiel struggled and pulled against the 'restraints' as Clarissa paced in front of him. "Damian." she said.

"Yes, mistress." he said, walking over.

"Break his wings" she commanded.

Castiel's eyes widened and his struggles increased tenfold as Damian the demon strode over, leering.

"With pleasure." he nearly purred as he took hold of one of Castiel's wings and easily snapped the bone. Castiel's screams echoed off the walls before dieing down and resarting with the fresh snap of the other wing.

Castiel now hung limp from the wall, wings quivering.

"Come on. Let's get him in with Miriam." Clarissa ordered, grabbing one of Castiel's arms as Damian grabbed the other and dragged him into the dungeon.

They left him chained to the ceiling, wings spread, across from Miriam.


	11. Chapter 10

Gabriel flew back to Bobby's, panicked and angry.

"We have a problem."

Sam and Dean were the only people in the house and both jumped at the abrupt appearance of the irritating archangel.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, gesturing for him to sit.

Gabriel just kept pacing. "It's Castiel. I told him about Miriam and he flew off. For a while I could feel his Grace where Miriam is, but it suddenly cut out."

"You mean he's dead?!" Dean asked, enraged.

"No. He's not. There was no flare of the Grace burning out. It was just suddenly gone." Gabriel explained, surprisingly calm.

"What can do that to an angel?" Sam asked.

"Nothing that I know of. And I know of a lot." Gabriel responded.

"We have to go get them! If this thing can take down an angel-" Dean started.

"Then we're screwed. Dean, if we just barge in with no clue what we're facing, all of us could end up captured or worse. Think. Plan. Research. We have to know what we're facing." Sam interrupted.

"By then it could be too late!" Dean exclaimed.

"Gabriel. Could both of them make it a few more days?" Sam asked.

"Miriam probably, now that they've got my brother. But Cas? No idea." Gabe responded.

Sam sighed. "We'll bring the books. Research on the road. Not like we've never done it before." He grabbed a bunch of angel lore books, wrote a note for Bobby, and walked out to the Impala. Dean and Gabriel followed.

"I can just zap you there. It'd be faster." Gabriel said.

"No. We're driving. We need to research. You can meet us at the motel." Sam responded.

"Fine." Gabriel said, getting in the car.

Both Sam and Dean followed and Dean drove off.

"Where are they, Gabriel?" Dean asked, glancing through the rear-view mirror at the concerned archangel in the back seat.

"Norfolk. An old warehouse- no, they've moved. An old house in Ghent."

"Where's Ghent?" Dean asked.

"Still in Norfolk. Very artsy and old timey. Nice place." Gabriel responded.

Dean nodded, looking at a map before getting on the interstate. Sam, meanwhile, was reading through a book of angel lore.

"Gabe, there's Enochian in this. Can you translate" he asked, handing the book to the archangel and pointing to the passage.

"Sure, kiddo." Gabriel responded, taking the book and quickly skimming the passage. Then he chuckled.

"What?" Sam asked.

"This is a letter to Michael about the Great Flood. Completely useless. As is the rest of this book." Gabriel said. "The one you want will most likely be entirely in Enochian."

"So, basically, only you can read it."

"Yes."

"Fantastic. I don't suppose you'd help me look for it?"

"Can't. It's taking all of my concentration to monitor Miriam."

Sam nodded, both of them lapsing into silence, Metalca's "Enter Sandman" blasting through the Impala's speakers as they drove.

Eventually, after twenty-four hours of driving, switching on and off every few minutes, they arrived in Ghent. After driving a few more minutes, they pulled into a run-down motel.

All three of them climbed out, Sam groggily handing a book to the bouncing archangel. "Enochian" he said before checking in, grabbing his stuff, and collapsing on the bed.

"Tired, Samsquatch?" Gabriel teased.

"Some of us need to sleep, Gabe." Sam responded. "And Samsquatch?"

"Well, only Dean is allowed to call you Sammy." Gabriel said, opening the book and reading it. "Oh… shit."

Dean looked over. "What on earth could possibly so bad it made an angel swear?"

"I know what happened to Castiel." Gabriel said. "It's a binding spell meant specifically for angels. It binds the Grace inside the vessel. And it's very hard to break."

"Awesome. How is it broken?"

"Only the person closest to the angel can remove the cuffs containing the spell."

"Who is that?"

"How should I know?" Gabriel stated indignantly. "I'm not my brother. I think right now our priority should be finding them."

Dean nodded. "We'll go tomorrow." He said, laying down and joining his brother in sleep.

"Hang in there little brother. We're on our way."


	12. Chapter 11

Miriam woke up to inhuman screams permeating the room. Looking up, she saw Castiel chained across from her, beaten, broken, and with silver rods sticking out of him.

"Cas! Castiel, are you ok? Please be ok, you have to be ok…" Miriam rambled, not recognizing the fact that she was so concerned for someone she barely knew. "Come on, Cas."

Miram had healed while she was out and now had all her strength back, and she began to fight against the chains.

Clarissa walked in, gesturing for her demons to step away from the angel, and walked over to Castiel. He looked up, panicked.

"Leave him alone!" Miriam yelled, throwing her weight against the unyielding iron chains.

Clarissa turned. "Ready to join us, angeling?"

Miriam scowled. "Leave him _alone_, Clarissa."

"And if I say no, little girl? What can you do?"

At that, Miriam smiled. "I can pray. Not for me, but for him. I can pray that someone comes to get him. And when they do, there is going to be hell to pay if you lay another finger on my angel!" She glared at Clarissa, not realizing she had called Castiel hers.

"Interesting. The level of devotion and protectiveness angelings feel towards their angels is phenomenal."

"You've met one of us before?" Miriam asked.

Clarissa nodded. "I've killed angelings before. And you know what I found out?" She walked behind Miriam and put her knife to Miriam's throat. "The angels often went insane at the loss of their mates, knowing or not." Clarissa pressed the knife harder into Miriam's neck, hard enough to draw blood and Castiel jerked his head up.

"No! Leave her alone!" he exclaimed, weakly pulling at the chains.

Clarissa chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. It's fun to watch you squirm because you can't protect the angeling." She plunged the silver knife into Miriam's shoulder, causing both her and Castiel to cry out. Miriam's breathing became labored as the blade pierced her soul as well.

"Please," Castiel pleaded, "just leave her alone. I'll do anything. Just leave her alone."

"Castiel, don't. I'm fine. She'll kill you!" Miriam argued.

"She can't. Nothing but an angel blade can kill an angel." Castiel countered.

"Oh," Clarissa said, pulling out a shining silver blade from the cart, "you mean this old thing? I got it years ago from an angel whose mate I killed. He was very compliant after that." She walked over and ran the sharp Angel Blade down Castiel's cheek, slicing it and drawing blood, which proceeded to drip down his face. He shuddered, tensing. "But I won't kill you. Not yet." She put the blade down and picked up the metal rings Miriam was familiar with. Miriam whimpered.

Just as Clarissa was done connecting the rings up to the battery and Miriam, there were several crashes and a screech from downstairs.

"What the hell?" Clarissa said, walking to the trapdoor and looking out. "Dammit." She came back and gagged Miriam and Castiel, setting a timer type thing on the battery. "See you soon. Just a little pest problem."

The battery turned on as she left the room, sending electricity coursing through Miriam's body and causing her heart to stutter. Her eyes squeezed shut and every muscle tensed. Half a minute later, it stopped, Miriam relaxed, and Castiel breathed again.

Downstairs in the hall, Gabriel, Dean, and Sam were battling the thirty demons that overpowered Castiel. Many of them were dead, but more just kept coming. Eventually, Sam was thrown back onto a broken piece of glass, slicing his leg open, and Dean was slammed against a nearby wall, slipping down unconscious. Gabriel knew there was only one thing he could do.

"Sam, close your eyes!" he yelled as he began to glow, unleashing the true glory of an Archangel to smite the demons.

Sam complied, closing his eyes until he heard Gabriel say, "You're safe, Sam."

Opening his eyes, Sam saw the demons dead and Dean slumped against the wall.

"Dean!" he exclaimed, crying out in pain as he tried to move over to him.

"Calm down, Sam. Deano's fine. You, on the other hand…" Gabriel walked over and touched his fingers to Sam's forehead, instantly healing him. After doing the same to Dean, the three of them searched the place for Castiel and Miriam.

After searching the house and coming up empty, Sam said, "Where else could they be? We've looked everywhere!"

Dean looked around. "Attic? Second story?"

"There are no stairs or ladder. Can't be. Unless the demon is powerful enough to hide them."

Slow clapping made the three of them turn with a start. "Well done, boys. Only took you three days after the angel to show up to find me. For poor Miriam though, that makes almost two weeks. Not at all up to your reputation, hmmm, boys?" Clarissa said.

"Where are they?!" Sam demanded, pulling out the demon-killing knife.

"Now, Sammy, you kill me and you don't get any information." she admonished. "You are correct, by the way. They're in the attic. But you can't get there. There's only one way up and you'll never find it."

"I think we will." Gabriel said, touching the demon's forehead and causing her to fall unconscious.

"Why didn't you just kill her?" Sam asked as Dean began searching for the entrance to the attic.

"In case we need her to take us to the attic, which I doubt. There was angel warding all over the house, so I don't think she put any on the attic." Gabriel responded.

Sam nodded.

"Hey, Gabriel, can you zap us there?" Dean all but shouted across the room. Two seconds later, they were standing in front of a wooden door, the sound of chains clanking coming from the inside the room. Opening the door, all three of them were greeted with a horrible sight.

Castiel hung bloody from the chains, staring wide-eyed at Miriam. She was tense, all of her muscles straining against the chains. For the half hour it took for Sam, Dean, and Gabriel to find them, break in, take down all the demons, and talk their way past Clarissa, Miriam had been subjected to the electricity once a minute for thirty seconds each. The putrid smell of burnt skin filled the room.

"Castiel!" Gabriel said, walking quickly over to his brother and unlocking the cuffs holding him up; the ones keeping his Grace imprisoned remained intact. Castiel slumped forward and Gabriel caught him, slowly lowering the injured and weak angel to the floor. Walking over to Miriam, Gabriel bent down and examined the contraption hooked up to her. "It's set on a timer. Very simple, easy to dismantle, just a flick of this switch…" The electricity cut off and Miriam slumped forward against the chains, unconscious.

"Help me get her down." Sam said to Dean, hurrying over after Gabriel had moved back to his brother and unlocking the cuffs, catching her when she fell. They both lowered her to the ground and carefully removed the metal bands. "We'll need to treat them both at Bobby's. Gabe, can you send us back to the motel? We'll meet you there."

Gabriel nodded, snapping and sending Miriam, Dean, and Sam back to the motel before grabbing Castiel and flying there himself. When he arrived, Sam and Dean had already gotten the unconscious Miriam into the back seat of the Impala. Gabriel slid in beside her as Dean put the comatose Castiel in the back as well, the bench seat feeling very crowded with three people in it.

They raced back to Bobby's, car silent. Not even the stereo was on. During the ride, Sam kept glancing at the back and Gabriel monitored Miriam and Castiel's conditions.

"How much further?" he asked.

"A few hours. How are they?" Sam spoke, concerned.

"Stable." Gabriel responded.

Sam nodded and turned around.

"For now."


	13. Chapter 12

Bobby nearly had a coronary when they walked in supporting Miriam and Castiel.

"What the hell happened?!" he asked emphatically, rushing over to help carry both of them into the house.

"Demons. A bunch of them. Had Miriam, then this genius decided to go in alone to get her." Dean replied, lowering Castiel onto the couch.

Bobby nodded and went to get the first aid kit as Sam and Dean assessed Miriam and Castiel's injuries.

"Miriam's not bad. The only surface wounds she seems to have are the burns and this gash on her shoulder. I'll need to stitch it, but she should wake up soon." Sam said, lifter her shirt up slightly to look at the burns. "I'll need to take her shirt off to treat her."

"You have to do it, and do it fast, Sammy. I'll need your help setting Cas' wings." Dean said as he stabilized the aforementioned wings so they wouldn't move too much.

Sam nodded and grabbed the medical scissors from the first aid kit Bobby brought in, cutting off the rest of the shirt and carefully pulling the burnt and bloody material off her body. "I'm sorry, Miriam," he apologized as he took in the full extent of her injuries.

He sucked in a breath, eyes raking over her many wounds. "It's worse than I thought," Sam said, leaning over to grab a bottle of antiseptic wash and sutures to treat her shoulder wound first, obviously the worst of the lot.

As he began to clean it, the sting of the antiseptic on her gaping wound, she jerked awake with a scream.

"Shhh," Sam reassured, "it's just me. Sam. You're fine."

Miriam nodded and relaxed, letting him continue and only wincing as the needle pierced her shoulder. "Where is he?" she asked as Sam continued to her electrical burns, cleaning them before putting on burn cream and wrapping them in gauze.

"Who?" he responded, going back to her shoulder to wrap the stitches in gauze.

"Castiel."

"On the other couch. Dean's got him."

Miriam nodded.

"I have to go help Dean with Cas now." Sam told her, taping off the gauze on her shoulder.

"Alright," she said, wincing at the pressure to her wound.

Sam stood up and walked over to Dean and Castiel, who was still unconscious. "What do you need me to do, Dean?" he asked.

"We need to set the wings. Damn demons broke them." Dean replied, reaching over to take hold of one of the broken and bloodied wings.

As soon as Dean's hand closed around the deep black wing, Castiel's eyes jerked open, blazing, wings attempting to flare before shrinking back, whimpering.

Miriam was at his side in a flash. "Castiel! Look, it's Miriam. We're safe. Sam and Dean are here."

Castiel nodded. "M-my wings…" he rasped.

"I know, I know. Sam and Dean have to set them, but it will hurt. Just hold my hand, OK?"

Castiel nodded again, squeezing his eyes shut and taking her hand.

"Cas, I'm gonna start now," Dean warned, taking the wing in his hands again and rebreaking the bone to set it correctly, Sam hurrying over to them to splint the wing and hold it still.

Castiel shook and tried not to scream at the rebreaking of his bones, squeezing Miriam's fingers until she bit her lip to keep the sound of pain in; she was sure they were going to break.

Finally, both wings had been set, it was over, and Castiel relaxed, letting go of Miriam's hand and pushing himself into a sitting position. "How?" he asked, looking to Sam and Dean.

"Gabriel," was Dean's response. "He felt the Grace inside Miriam call out and came to us. Obviously, he told you where to find her and you ran off without telling us. Got your own ass captured, and Gabriel found you again. Busted in and saved you."

Castiel nodded before going limp again, hand going slack in Miriam's.

"Cas. Cas!" Miriam said, gently shaking his shoulder.

Gabriel arrived then, a soft flutter of wings that Miriam either didn't hear or ignored. He walked over and put a reassuring hand on Miriam's shoulder. "He's fine. It's the cuffs. His energy is being drained faster than normal."

"How long will he be like this?" she asked.

"Until the cuffs come off." Gabriel answered. "You should get some rest as well. You need it. He'll be fine, I'll watch him. Promise."

Miriam nodded, "Alright," before hesitantly walking to the stairs, sparing one last glance at the comatose angel before disappearing into one of the guest rooms and falling into a fitful sleep.


	14. Chapter 13

Several weeks later, books, both opened and closed, covered almost every surface of the library and study.

"There is nothing in any of these about finding who an angel's closest to!" Miriam exclaimed, throwing the latest book to the floor. The sudden scream and thump caused Sam and Dean to look up, startled.

"Trial and error then." Sam responded. "We look at the books about how angels function and work from there. For example, this one says older angels teach younger ones to fly. We should see who taught Cas to use his wings."

Miriam nodded, taking a deep breath and walking over to the dozing angel on the couch. "Cas?"

Castiel stirred, "Yes?"

"We need to know who taught you how to fly. They may be able to remove the cuffs."

"Gabriel did," he said with a yawn.

"Thank you. We'll get these off you, ok? Just rest." She leaned over and kissed his forehead before walking to the window to pray for Gabriel. 'Gabe. We have an idea of how to get the cuffs off.'

"What is it?" Gabriel asked.

"You," she said, walking over.

Gabriel looked at her, confused.

"You might be able to remove the cuffs. We found lore about how angels teach each other to fly. We figured they would be closest and you're who taught Cas to fly."

He nodded and walked over to Castiel, sitting on the edge of the couch. "Hey, little brother."

Castiel's eyes blinked open and a small smile formed on his tired lips. "Hello, Gabriel."

"You ok?"

"Been better."

"I'm going to try to take off the cuffs, ok?"

Castiel nodded as Gabriel took hold of one of the cuffs, trying to pull it apart.

Nothing happened.

"I'm a bit offended," Gabriel said, trying to make a joke in the tense situation.

"Why don't I try?" Dean said.

"Why you?" asked Miriam.

"Well, he did bring me back from Hell. Don't get much closer than that."

"Fair enough." Miriam said, watching as Dean pulled against the iron cuffs.

Again, it was futile.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed, irate and fuming.

Miriam and Sam watched as he paced over the carpet.

"Dean, calm down." Sam said, standing. "Come on, let's go outside. You need to step away."

They both walked outside, leaving Miriam and the two angels together. Miriam walked over to the window and kept an eye on the boys. Castiel and Gabriel, meanwhile, were talking in whispers.

"You should tell her." Gabriel said.

"What? That she's my mate? I'm not sure she'd take it that well." Castiel responded.

"She could be the one to remove the cuffs."

"I know." He pushed himself into a sitting position, nodding farewell to Gabriel, who smirked and promptly disappeared.

"Miriam," Castiel called.

She turned. "Yes? Where's Gabe?"

"Flew off. Could I talk to you?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"It's about your angel."

"Do you know who it is?" she asked, nervous and excited.

Castiel took a deep breath and looked down. "It's me."

She smiled. "You…" She reached out and placed a hand on his cheek, slightly dazed. "How long have you known?"

"Since you were kidnapped."

"Mmm… kidnapped…" She looked at him with a start. "The cuffs! Do you think I could remove them?"

"I'm not sure. Probably."

"I'm going to try." Miriam took hold of one of the cuffs and pulled. "Nothing, dammit." She sighed and ran her hand along the Enochian glyphs.

They glowed and the cuff snapped open.

Smiling, Miriam repeated the motion on the remaining cuff and the collar. She hesitated at the ones on his wings.

"Cas, even if these open, it's going to hurt like hell coming out." Miriam warned.

"I know. But they hurt right now too. Just do it." he responded.

Miriam nodded and ran her hands over the rings, which snapped open. She grabbed one and, as gently as she could, pulled it out of his wing.

Though Castiel tried, he could not keep in the shout of pain that had Sam and Dean running in from the kitchen.

"What happened?" Dean asked quickly.

"Nothing. I'm just getting the rings out of Cas's wings." Miriam responded, going to the other wing and pulling out the ring.

It slid out of Cas's wing and, much to Dean and Sam's shock, they disappeared.

"Cas, where are your wings?" Sam asked.

"The rings were keeping them manifested in the visible plane. Now that they're gone, you can no longer see them." he responded.

Both Sam and Dean nodded, but Miriam gave no sign that she had heard. She was entranced by the true form of Castiel's wings; strong and powerful ebony appendages, looking magnificent, though injured. When they shifted and caught the light, flashes of a deep silvery blue could be seen.

"They're beautiful." Miriam murmured, staring at what appeared to be empty space to Sam and Dean.

"Miriam? What are you talking about?" Sam asked, concerned.

"She's talking about my wings." Castiel said, shifting into a more upright position and wincing. "She can- will always be able to- see them."

Castiel's voice seemed to break the trance. "Cas, you're bleeding." she said, looking at his wings. Miriam looked up at Castiel. "May I clean and dress it?"

"Go ahead Miriam." he responded with a slight smile.

She nodded walked off to find the first aid kit.

"What the hell, Cas? She can see your wings?" Dean said. "How the hell can she see your wings?"

"She's an Angeling." Castiel responded, reluctant to share that Miriam was his mate.

"Bull. It's more than that. She can't see Gabriel's wings."

Castiel went silent, staring at the door Miriam left through. Sam's eyes flicked between Castiel and the door.

"No way," he said, figuring it out.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Miriam is Cas's mate. Am I right?" Sam responded, looking at Castiel.

Castiel looked down at his lap. "You're right Sam."

"Right about what, Cas?" Miriam asked, walking in with the first aid kit. She sat down on the couch next to Castiel. "Could you sit down on the floor please? I can put a cushion down."

"Of course." He set a couch cushion on the floor and sat in front of her. "Sam figured out how you saw my wings."

"Ah. I didn't expect him not to. Did you?" she smiled. "I'm going to start now, ok?"

Castiel nodded and Miriam began to clean the wounds on his wings.

"I'm going to have to stitch these." she said after she had cleaned the wound, as she studied the holes. "And I may have to remove some feathers."

"What? Why?" Castiel asked with a calm masked face.

"Because I don't want to accidentally stitch the feathers into the wound. They could become ingrown and do more harm than good. Sorry, Cas."

Castiel nodded. "If you have too."

"Thank you." Miriam looked at Sam and Dean. "Can one of you get me something to put the feathers in?"

"Sure." Sam said, going to find a large bucket.

Dean looked at Miriam, bloodied hands running over empty space.

"So…" he said, trying to break the silence.

Miriam looked up. "Yes?"

"You and Cas, huh?"

"Not really. He only told me today."

"But, you two…"

"We'll get there. For now, I just want to make sure he heals properly."

Dean nodded as Sam came in with a large garbage can.

"This is all I could find."

"That should work. Could I also have a bowl of warm water? I just realized, it would help loosen the feathers so that I can take them out easier."

"Sure." Dean said, going to get this time. Miriam, meanwhile, looked at Castiel.

"Are you ok?" she asked, running her red-tinted hands through his hair.

"Better now. Still weak, but better."

"Good." she checked the bones under the splints. "Your bones are healed. That means it shouldn't take too long for the wings to heal."

Castiel nodded as Dean walked in with the hot water and a washcloth.

"Thank you," Miriam took the water and held the hot washcloth to Castiel's wing. After about five minutes, she took the washcloth off, grabbing a feather and gently pulled it out.

Castiel's wings instinctively flapped, trying to knock the irritant off, accidentally buffeting Miriam and almost knocking her off the couch.

"Shhh, Cas. It's just me. Just Miriam. You're fine." She gently placed her hands on his wings, calming him down. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm fine. Can I continue?"

Castiel nodded and Miriam continued plucking out feathers, frown deepening with each one.

"Dammit," she said, looking at the pinkish skin beneath the feathers.

"What?" Dean asked quickly.

"Blood poisoning. Whatever those rings were made of, his body didn't like it."

"How do we cure it?"

"I don't know. But it _will_ drain his energy and power fighting it off."

Sam stood. "You keep working. I'll look for a way to help."

Miriam smiled. "Thank you." She continued plucking feathers, running her free hand soothingly over feather's and Castiel's hair.

"So, how is he?" Dean asked.

Miriam chuckled. "Right here. And fine, except for the blood poisoning."

Dean nodded. "Can you do anything before we find the cure?"

"I can stitch the wounds."

Dean nodded. "I'll go help Sammy." He left, and Miriam began to stitch up Castiel's wounds.

As she was stitching, she rambled about hunting, her brother, and other things.

Even when she was done dressing the wounds, her hands stayed on her wings.

"They really are beautiful," she said, burying her hands in his feathers.

"I'm glad you think so," Castiel responded, somewhat self- consciously.

"Don't you? Or at least, don't other angels?"

He was the first and only angel with black wings until I was born. Needless to say, I was looked down upon."

"That's horrible! Making an assumption based on one other angel! They should be ashamed of themselves!"

Castiel chuckled. "That's what Gabriel said. Before he left. He always told me it didn't matter what the others thought. I'd find someone who thought they were beautiful." He turned around on the cushion to face Miriam. "And I did."

Miriam smiled, standing. "Come on. Let's see if the boys found anything about blood poisoning." She held out her hand, which Castiel took, and walked to the study, where Sam was focused on his laptop and Dean was rifling through textbooks.

"Got anything?"

"Nothing so far." Sam looked up at them. "Are you sure he'll need it? He is an angel and they heal fast."

"I might, I might not," responded Castiel. "But I'm still weak. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Besides," Miriam said, "it's probably a good thing to know."

Both boys nodded and Castiel swayed a little, leaning on Miriam for a brief second.

"Cas, you should probably get some rest." Dean said. "Go on, Miriam. Take him upstairs. We'll keep looking."

"I'll join you as soon as I can," she said, leading the tired angel to 'her' room.


End file.
